The Lawton City Council

The Lawton City Council voted to apply for a $2 million state ARPA grant to finance renovation of the aged Gondola Lake Dam at Lake Lawtonka. The city-owned dam is approximately 100 years old and is used “to create a small tilling pool just downstream” of the lake, Public Utilities Director Rusty Whisenhunt said. The dam’s overflow spillway is damaged “and requires rehabilitation,” he said. Jacobs Engineering Group is developing a “high-level condition summary” of the dam, a “feasibility assessment” on whether to repair or replace the dam at the same location, and a cost estimate, Whisenhunt said. The total estimated project cost is $2.5 million to $2.8 million, the city council was told.